Mechanic Mr Friend was en route to work at Reigate Motor Company when he went round a bend and hit a stationary Volkswagen, which had moments earlier been involved in a collision with two other vehicles.

The accident occurred immediately prior to a set of temporary traffic lights and roadworks, set up by Sutton and East Surrey Water (SESW).

Blind bend

On Wednesday (July 30), the Volkswagen driver, Reigate resident Henry Harrod, gave evidence before coroner Simon Wickens. Mr Harrod said he regularly drove on the A217 to get to work in Crawley.

"It was my main route, I used it all the time, it's a road I know well," he said.

"I was aware there were works going on, there had been signs there for a while."

Leaving home at 7.30am, Mr Harrod joined the A217 at Bell Street and stopped at the Woodhatch traffic lights before spotting a 'lorries turning' sign near a works entrance.

"I recall seeing a roadworks sign immediately after the turn for the works site," he said.

"It was on a grass patch on the left-hand side of the road.

"I don't recall any more signs after that. It indicated there was going to be some form of roadworks, but it did not occur to me there would be traffic lights based on that."

Mr Harrod said he slowed down for a blind bend, which was obscured by a high hedge to the left. He explained it was only once he entered the corner that a stationary car became visible.

"I applied as much force as I could to the brake pedal," he said. "But I collided with a silver Volkswagen Golf. I must have sat there for about 10 seconds before I put my mind in gear."

Shrapnel

After checking everyone was OK and exchanging details, Mr Harrod put his hazard warning lights on as traffic continued to flow past the accident.

"At that point, there was a very loud noise, followed by a series of very loud crashes, bangs and smashes - it all happened very quickly," he said.

"I saw a huge amount of stuff in the air. After a split second, I realised there was a body in the air and other shrapnel around us, at which point I froze.

"Looking around, I saw a black car - a BMW - that had stopped. The majority of the front had gone.

"On the grass verge, there was a big metal object steaming. It soon became apparent there had been a crash involving a motorcycle."

Mr Harrod told the inquest the damage to his car indicated Mr Friend had hit it before careering into the path of the BMW.

He explained it was the first time he had been involved in a collision and it did not occur to him to move his car away from the blind bend.

The court heard that shortly after the roadworks sign there were both temporary traffic light and road narrowing signs, but Mr Harrod said he had no recollection of these.

'Collisions'

Following the accident, Mr Harrod said he was taken home by a police officer who told him there had been "collisions" at the crash site in recent days.

Mr Wickens explained this evidence only came to light in an additional statement provided to the court on Monday (February 28) by Mr Harrod's solicitors - ahead of the inquest - at the request of the coroner's office.

Mr Harrod said he recalled mentioning it to the police when he was interviewed for his formal statement, despite it not appearing in the final copy.

"I was fully clear in my statement [that] he mentioned there had been multiple incidents," he added.

"He may have been referring to that road in general. But it is my memory he was referring to that specific area over a very short period of time."

Recently Published

Jurors at the inquest into the death of motorcyclist Lee Friend have heard evidence from a police officer and witnesses about the location of roadworks traffic lights in Reigate, as well as the water firm employees who set them up

The Surrey Advertiser, News & Mail and Staines Informer are part of Trinity Mirror Southern, offering you unique access to our audience across the region online and in print.

We reach an average of 599,113* unique users a month with dedicated coverage of Guildford, Woking, Esher, Staines and the whole of Surrey

80% of our visitors**, who view an average of 2,616,228* page impressions every month, are in the desirable ABC1 socio-economic groups.

To book an advert with the our advertising team, call 01483 508700 or visit the Trinity Mirror Southern website trinitymirrorsouthern.co.uk for more information.trinitymirrorsouthern.co.uk for more information.

We are part of Trinity Mirror Southern, offering you unique access to our audience across the region online and in print..

She has been editorial director of the online and print titles in Surrey and north-east Hampshire since 2007. Marnie previously worked at the BBC as a producer for 5 Live, having moved to national radio from BBC Sussex and Surrey.